POSCO will invest 45 trillion won ($40.3 billion) and hire 20,000 by 2023, in part of a bid to upgrade its steel capacity and contribute to society, the steelmaker said, Monday.POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo said the group came up with the investment plan to "take a pre-emptive step to lead the global steel industry and the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the manufacturing sector."In the plan, the company will allocate the funds to steel, new growth businesses highlighted by rechargeable battery materials, and energy and infrastructure businesses. For steel, POSCO will invest 26 trillion won to automate the No. 3 blast furnace of its Gwangyang Steel Mill by applying artificial intelligence, expanding facilities exclusive for its Giga Steel and establishing power generation facilities using byproduct gases. The 4,600-cubic-meter No. 3 blast furnace is capable of producing 3.52 million tons of molten steel. Giga Steel is POSCO's extra-strong steel product regarded as one of the strongest steels available for vehicles, allowing automakers to manufacture lighter cars by building thinner chassis and frames. For its new growth businesses, the group will invest 10 trillion won to enhance its technology and capacity for secondary battery materials. In the pipeline is upgrading lithium-extracting technologies and building new factories for lithium, anode and cathode materials using synthetic graphite. Currently, POSCO Chemtech and POSCO ESM each produce cathode and anode materials. Choi said in July he will merge the two affiliates so they can create greater synergy. Analysts expect POSCO Chemtech, a listed company, to take over POSCO ESM, a private company, and will benefit the most from the investment plan.POSCO has already dropped hints over its shift in focus to battery materials. In May, POSCO purchased a 165,000-square-meter plot of land in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, to build an anode materials factory capable of producing 6,000 tons a year by next year and expand it to 50,000 tons a year by 2022. In January, POSCO set up a joint venture with China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to produce lithium-ion battery materials, as well as securing multiple sources for raw materials across the world. For energy and infrastructure businesses, the group will earmark 9 trillion won for clean thermal and eco-friendly power generation projects, expanding liquefied natural gas storage facilities, upgrading POSCO Daewoo's Myanmar gas field facilities and enhancing its construction businesses. Along with the massive investment plan, POSCO said it will hire 20,000 in the next five years to secure the required manpower. The hiring volume will be up 190 percent from 7,000 the group hired in the past five years. "POSCO is currently setting up its tasks for enhancing its competitiveness, exploring new businesses and contributing to the regional economy," a POSCO official said. "In early November, when Choi meets his 100th day as group chairman, the group will announce those tasks and carry them out strongly."